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Jennifer, I too always love reading your replies. We just got back from the Rockies 2 weeks ago. I have never been and I got so sick. It was the altitude and I could not catch a breath. It was awful. I thought I might be having a heart attack.
I need the same surgery as red. Except I have spinal stenosis also. The neurosurgeon I have seen is Alexander Ropper at Baylor in Houston. I don’t hurt all of the time, but I have neuropathy and my leg and foot is bad. He said he thinks he can help me and I do want a better quality of life plus I don’t want to get worse. It’s a decision I need to make. Red what dr. Did you see at Baylor?.
Replies to "Jennifer, I too always love reading your replies. We just got back from the Rockies 2..."
Hi Peggy, Dr. David Barnett at Baylor Hospital. He is a neurosurgeon. I haven't seen him but might if I decide to get a fourth opinion. He was recommended to me by a woman I met who had a very successful spine fusion, the same surgery I need. (PLIF) She really sang his praises...did you like Alexander Ropper?
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@peggyn Thank you for your kind words. I hope what I've shared will help with education about spine issues and help you with your decisions. I needed to know every detail I could, and I was dealing with surgeons who didn't recognize what I knew about the stenosis until I got to Mayo. I had stenosis in my C spine in the central canal, but not at the nerve roots, so my pain pattern did not follow the dermatome maps. It was causing loss of muscles and coordination, and I am so glad to be past the recovery from that. I think my muscle mass is still improving now at 3 years post op. Did you get a detailed explanation from your surgeon as to how surgery can help you?
We just got home a week ago from the Colorado Rockies and Rocky Mountain National Park. Usually altitude doesn't affect me as much, but I had some chest congestion when I got there, so my first couple days didn't feel so good because of breathing problems and incorrect dosages of my thyroid medicine, but I drank a lot of water. By the end of the week, I felt much better, and even though walking around in the cold temps at the altitude made my heart race at the time, we took it slow and I was better by the time we left a week later. I think it really takes about 2 weeks to acclimate and that is probably easier in summer when it isn't so dry inside. We were boiling water for humidity which helped a lot.